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South Dakota Legislative Panel Recommends Tighter Regulations On Medical Marijuana And Hemp Products

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6 months ago

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“This commission, in my opinion, has only made it harder for patients to get access to medical cannabis.”

The A rift between a South Dakota oversight board and the state’s medical marijuana industry It unfolded in Pierre on Tuesday, when the commission passed 11 motions, some of which called for stricter regulations.

The motions were not made public prior to the meeting, and the committee did not take public comment on individual motions. The committee acted on the motions, with four of the 11 members of the group not present.

The intentions of the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee to propose and pass some of the motions were unclear. The motions were not introduced as formal proposals to change the rules or as bills for the legislative session, which begins in January.

The themes of the motions varied widely and included recommendations for stricter regulation of the medical marijuana industry, and intoxicating products sold outside the industry in convenience stores and statements of support or recommendations on smoke shops and other topics.

“I think these are just motions, right?” said Sen. Lauren Nelson, R-Yankton, a committee member. “So some of these motions that passed today may never be heard again. Some of these motions may become bills that one of us, someone else in the Legislature, can carry, and then we can have our debate.”

Medical marijuana industry lobbyist Jeremiah Murphy asked that the minutes reflect that no prior public notice of the motions was given and no public comment was made on the individual motions.

“If you want to just call these ‘motions’, that’s fine,” Murphy said, “But the key is that they’re not considered anything like legislation because they weren’t published beforehand. The bill or resolution has to be published before the hearing.”

The votes ended a combative meeting that was similar in tone to the commission’s previous meeting two weeks ago. That earlier meeting drew industry complaints about a guest speaker list that presented mostly negative views on marijuana.

of the committee membership It consists of four members of parliament and seven non-legislators, including members of the medical, counseling, law enforcement and patient communities. The committee members missing Tuesday were all nonlegislators: Francine Arneson, Kristi Palmer, Andrew Schock and Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum.

At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, the commission took public comments from individuals, each limited to two minutes.

Kittrick Jeffries, of Puffy’s Dispensary in Rapid City, said the panel “was clarifying issues that voters decided five years ago.” South Dakota voters legalized medical marijuana in 2020, and the state implemented the program in 2022. There are 17,137 sick card holders in the state.

“This commission, in my view, has only made it harder for patients to get access to medical cannabis,” Jeffries said.

Emmett Reistroffer, with Genesis Farms Cannabis Company, called the panel a “show committee” and questioned the motivation of Rep. Josephine Garcia, R-Watertown, who said she sponsored unsuccessful legislation earlier this year to repeal the state’s medical marijuana program.

“I don’t think there’s any business running an oversight committee on a program that you publicly opposed in the last legislative session,” Reistroffer said. “Of course you don’t like what I have to say, but I have two minutes. I’m a citizen of the state of South Dakota.”

Because of this, Garcia silenced Reistroffer, but then turned him off.

“You can’t silence a member of the public,” Reistroffer said breaking the silence. The action “further reinforces that it is a show committee.”

Garcia was silent again.

“The reason they gave that knight was for a lot of reasons,” Garcia said. He said they had “things online that were defaming me or what they were doing to me.”

He added: “I think I’ve been fair, more than fair, and it’s just a shame.”

In further public comment, Rep. Travis Ismay, R-Newell, who is not a member of the committee, complained that a state health inspector was seen hugging an industry representative outside the chamber. Ismay was the lead sponsor of the Garcia-sponsored bill to repeal the medical marijuana program, and previously tried to put a repeal initiative on the ballot.

“I don’t think they’re that reliable,” Ismay said of the industry in general.

Health Department Secretary Melissa Magstadt responded that no Health Department inspectors were present at the meeting. Ismay returned to the microphone, saying he “maybe misspoke or something,” claiming that he misidentified the people he saw.

Genesis Farms lobbyist Mitch Richter pointed to a previous board meeting in which Garcia, a physician, said a former patient of his used artificial intelligence to falsify documents to obtain medical marijuana, buy 3 ounces and sell them for $10,000 a week.

Richter said the allegations “do not hold water.”

“If you make $10,000 on 3 ounces of marijuana, I want to talk to you,” said Richter, who also said the commission should be repealed.

Reistroffer told the South Dakota Searchlight that 3 ounces of medical marijuana typically sell for around $600.

Garcia repeatedly defended the commission and himself, saying the panel was still in its oversight mandate and that the actions taken were “just motions.”

“For those who were disrespectful, shame on you,” he said.

Photo by Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

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Klasmann-Deilmann announces management changes

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15 hours ago

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April 29, 2026

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After fifteen years of successful cooperation, managing director Moritz Böcking and the shareholders of Klasmann-Deilmann GmbH have mutually agreed to part ways. As of May 1, 2026, Moritz Böcking will hand over the position of managing director to Jan Astrup, who served as the company’s CEO in 2021/2022. Jan Astrup and Damian Ikemann will form the Board of Directors of the Klasmann-Deilmann Group from now on.

© Klasmann-Deilmann Benelux

Klasmann-Deilmann thanks Moritz Böcking for his cooperation and the progress achieved in the transformation of the Klasmann-Deilmann Group. Moritz Böcking expanded Klasmann-Deilmann beyond the growing media business into new areas of commercial horticulture and promoted innovation and digitalization within the company. In addition, its achievements include the expansion of resources derived from renewable raw materials, as well as the acquisition of a subsidiary in Australia and production facilities in France and Canada, which operate in cooperation with external partners. He also significantly advanced Klasmann-Deilmann’s positioning as a global pioneer of sustainable development in the growing media industry, thereby making a decisive contribution to the company’s economic growth.

With Jan Astrup, Klasmann-Deilmann is getting an internationally experienced manager who has proven himself in the company and has extensive experience in raw materials, production, process optimization and technology. With the new CEO, raw materials and technology-driven areas for the substrate industry are now increasingly important at senior management level. Jan Astrup will strengthen the core commercial horticulture business and help develop the company for the future.

For more information:
Klasmann-Deilmann GmbH
(email protected)
www.klasmann-deilmann.com



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Congressional Amendments To Delay Or Speed Up Federal Hemp THC Product Ban Won’t Get Votes

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16 hours ago

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April 29, 2026

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Congressional amendments to both delaying the scheduled federal recriminalization of hemp THC products for another year or to speed up implementation will not be considered on the House floor this week.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY) introduced the delay proposal as an amendment to the Farm Bill, while Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) introduced an expedited approach. Neither will move forward, however, with Comer withdrawing his measure and the House Rules Committee failing to vote on Miller’s.

Hemp derivatives containing less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by weight of the drug were made federally legal under the 2018 Farm Bill signed by President Donald Trump in his first term. But late last year, Trump signed new legislation containing provisions that will redefine hemp so that only products with a total of 0.4 milligrams of THC per container will be legal starting Nov. 12.

Comer’s amendment, sponsored by Reps. Kelly Morrison (D-MN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA), would have delayed the ban until November 2027.

According to Miller’s proposal, however, the ban will begin the day the new Farm Bill takes effect. However, it is unclear based on progress in Congress whether the large-scale farming legislation will actually become law, and the legislation could not pass until after the current recriminalization date.

Comer told the panel at Monday’s meeting that his amendment would “protect American farmers” and “help the hemp industry and the thousands of jobs that use and rely on these products.”

“It is clear that Congress needs more time to pass legislation that protects jobs, eliminates bad actors, standardizes labeling and requires third-party testing,” he said. “My amendment would give Congress another year, until November 2027, to develop this solution.”

It is not clear why he decided to remove it from the annex to the proposal Farm BillAlso known as the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, or HR 7567.




Griffith, a member of the Rules Committee who sponsored Comer’s amendment, noted that there are “a lot of hemp products from overseas that don’t have third-party testing” on the market, “frankly all kinds of junk.”

He said the real solution is for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the products, citing a separate bill he has introduced on the issue, but argued that “we have to have time to adjust,” which he said would provide the delay amendment.

Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) also introduced an amendment to the bill that, according to the sponsor’s summary, “changes the definition of hemp to protect the legal hemp market, creating a regulatory framework that protects children, bans synthetics, and ensures that products on the market are of American origin.”

The congressman later withdrew the proposal for undisclosed reasons.

However, he recently received a letter White House officials commented on pending legislation to create a regulatory framework for hemp.

Last week, Vince Haley, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and James Braid, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, sent hemp policy suggestions to Barr, who is helping lead efforts to establish regulations for the plant as an alternative to prohibition.

“We appreciate your work to advance policy,” the executive order Trump signed in December, which included provisions to protect Americans’ access to CBD products, the staff wrote in a letter to Congress.

“We are submitting draft legislation and comments to your account to address the final statutory definition of hemp-derived cannabinoid products to ensure that Americans have access to adequate full-spectrum CBD products while maintaining Congress’ intent to limit the sale of products that pose serious health risks,” White House officials said, according to a social media screencast. “We are open to discussion and further technical assistance.”

The annex to the administration’s proposed legislative text has not been released publicly, and the White House and Barr’s office did not immediately respond to Marihuana Moment’s request for more details.

It’s not clear from the text of the letter whether the White House was proactively sending legislative proposals to the lawmaker or whether they were responding to something sent by his office, though two cannabis industry sources suggested to Marihuana Moment that Barr was sending the language to the administration, and then providing technical feedback.

Trump this week It inspired lawmakers in Congress to take action to change the currently planned hemp banand suggested that this threatens to federally recriminalize full-spectrum CBD products.

“I’m calling on Congress to update the Act so Americans can continue to have access to the full-spectrum CBD products they trust and support, while maintaining Congress’ intent to restrict the sale of products that pose health risks,” the president said in a Truth Social message Thursday, the same day his administration announced it is moving forward to re-regulate marijuana.

“We need to do this RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who have found CBD to help them,” he said. “Also, I’m told it will help our BIG FARMERS that we love and will always be around.”

Rep. Jim Baird (R-IN) had it introduced the hemp ban delay amendment before the House Agriculture Committee when it took up the Farm Bill last month, but the president of that panel determined that the proposal was not in line with the legislation.

The Farm Bill passed by the previous committee includes provisions to help the hemp industry and farmers who grow cannabis for industrial purposes, such as fiber and grain. For example, the legislation would amend statutes related to states and tribes developing regulatory plans for industrial hemp production, including policies on testing, sampling, background checks and record keeping.

Other bipartisan hemp reform bills are pending in Congress.

This month, for example, it was introduced by Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Joni Ernst (R-IA). The Hemp Safety Enforcement Act, which would give states the option of federal recriminalization of THC hemp products. it will be established this year.

Ernst withdrew his name, however, as a sponsor of the legislation. His office did not respond to Marihuana Moment’s request for clarification on the move.

—
It’s Marijuana Time tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelic and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters by pledging at least $25/month, you’ll get access to our interactive maps, charts, and audio calendars so you never miss a development.

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The US Department of Agriculture published this month shows that US farmers grow $3 billion in hemp crops by 2025— 64% increase compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, this month the Trump administration launched a new initiative Cover up to $500 of hemp-derived products annually for eligible Medicare patients. The program being implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) focuses largely on CBD, but also allows a certain amount of THC in products.

Anti-marijuana organizations filed a lawsuit against the Medicare hemp coverage policyand Health and Human Services attorneys. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Director Mehmet Oz recently He submitted a letter requesting the filing of the case.

Meanwhile, the White House Management and Budget Office has held a series of meetings a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) CBD product enforcement policy.

The FDA also issued guidance making it clear that it does not intend to interfere Establish a Medicare coverage plan for hemp-derived products.

CMS finalized a rule that will be adopted separately Coverage of certain hemp products, primarily as specialized health-related benefits, through Medicare Advantage the plans

As hemp products become more popular among consumers, some big brands are trying to get in on the action.

The main retailer Target, for example, is expanding its involvement in the hemp-derived THC beverage market. Last year, the company began a pilot program in 10 stores in Minnesota that sell cannabis drinks. That apparently went well, and now the company has secured licenses from Minnesota regulators to sell lower-potency edible hemp products — including THC drinks — in 72 stores in the state.

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NC lawmakers revisit marijuana policy following reclassification

Published

2 days ago

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April 28, 2026

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North Carolina lawmakers say they’re fueling debate over the state’s marijuana laws — a move by the Trump administration to reclassify it as a less dangerous drug.

Across the country, a set of laws and enforcements regulate marijuana. The drug is illegal under federal law, but dozens of US states have legalized it. And almost all states have legalized medical marijuana prescriptions for certain ailments. North Carolina is among the remaining states to resist any form of legalization. Republican politicians in North Carolina have resisted passing any bills to legalize or decriminalize marijuana, despite public opinion polls showing broad public support for such changes.

Senate President Phil Berger said he expects his chamber to revisit efforts to legalize medical marijuana this week. “We will have a conversation within our caucus if they are interested in whether we do something,” Berger told reporters Tuesday.

The recent actions of Republican President Donald Trump may add a new dimension to these conversations. Trump’s acting attorney general on Thursday signed the drug classification as a less dangerous and less strictly regulated drug than marijuana. Federal law does not legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use.

Read more at WRAL News










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